Wednesday, December 3, 2008

An appeal for donationsLadies and Gentlemen, As you are aware, my forced stay in Singapore for 6 months by the Singapore government by their holding my passport and preventing me to travel, has resulted in severe financial burden to me. I have to get my law practice back into swing and get all other small matters taken care of. I am therefore badly in need of financial assistance. Your donations at this time will be greatly appreciated.If you can donate, please send the moneys through Western Union which is available at any post office in Singapore. Same applies to those in other countries.Any amount will be appreciated.When sending the funds, please email me the reference number to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com. Payable to "Gopalan Nair". Many thanks Gopalan Nair

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The state controlled press, the Straits Times of Singapore of Dec 3, 2008, reports that 2 days after I reached American soil, I retracted any apology given in the Lee Kuan Yew controlled courts of Singapore, Court 15, Subordinate Courts, before Judge Leslie Chew. This is correct. All apologies are retracted. So is my undertaking not to write my mind on the dire lack of human rights, the shameful lack of independence of the courts and everything else that need to be addressed. I shall also be reposting the blog posts which I was required to remove of Sept 1 and Sept 6 of 2008 in this blog.

The newspaper report states that the Singapore attorney general is looking into my turn about. My advice to the Attorney General of Singapore is to do all he can and whatever he wants. But the sad fact, for him that is, I am on American soil. America is a free country.

If he determined to make a fool of himself, extradition is what he has to consider. To do that, Singapore has to apply through diplomatic channels to register the claim in a US court. A US court would then have to consider whether what I did would be a violation of the laws in Singapore. In considering the question, they will have to look into the question whether what I did would tantamount to a crime in the United States. It is here that Singapore would find themselves in a bind. America is a country of laws. And their judges are proud to defend those laws. Not like Singapore which uses its courts as their principle tool to silence dissent. There is no way that Singapore can even hope to succeed. But I would be glad if they tried, which would make me an even greater celebrity than what they already have made me.

Dictatorships all over the world use dirty tactics to stay in power for as long as they can. I say for as long as they can, because sooner or later they all collapse. One of these tactics is to unjustly condemn a man and then repeat that lie over and over, hoping that the lie will eventually take root.

The state controlled press report mentions that "In writing about the case on his blog, he insulted High Court judge Belinda Ang". This is a deliberate lie. This refers to my arrest and conviction for what I had written in my blog post Thursday, May 29, 2008 Singapore. Judge Belinda Ang's Kangaroo Court. The material words which the Singapore Court relied on to convicted me before Justice Kan Ting Chiu of the Supreme Court were

"The judge Belinda Ang was throughout prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders. There was murder, the rule of law being the repeated victim."

The state controlled Singapore court with its complaint judge Kan Ting Chiu found that the words "prostituting herself during the entire proceedings", among other parts of the blog post, was an insult to her.

This is completely untrue. According to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, other than the usual meaning of a prostitute being a street walker, it also means

a) to devote to corrupt or unworthy purposes, debase, e.g. to prostitute one's talents b) devoted to corrupt purposes c) a person who (as a writer or painter) who deliberately debases himself or his talents (as for money).

And this was exactly what Judge Belinda Ang did during those 3 days of May 26 to May 28, 2008 in the High Court of Singapore. Reading the blog you will see that my accusation is factually correct. She unashamedly, throughout the proceedings permitted her position of a judge to be used for Lee Kuan Yew and his son's advantage; not the not the interests of the law.

And I repeat those words I said again here. She undoubtedly "prostituted herself in her position as a judge" to serve the interests of Lee Kuan Yew and his son, the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Therefore there was no insult at all. My claim is factually correct. I am lawyer and I choose my words with discretion. But whatever the truth was, did not matter to Lee Kuan Yew's agent, Judge Kan Ting Chiu that day. He finds that I insulted the judge when there was no insult at all. And now, the state controlled Straits Times picks it up and repeats that defamation again and again hoping that people will believe that I had in fact insulted the judge.

And then another lie. The report reads " Separately in July he behaved in a disorderly fashion and hurled expletives at police officers". I did no such thing.

I was accosted by 5 men claiming to be police officers who demanded to see my particulars in Little India on the July 4th 2008 at about 8.30 pm in Race Course Road, Little India, Singapore. Not knowing who they were I refused. And a little later, I was arrested. Of course, I being Gopalan Nair, and a former Singapore opposition politician, they pressed charges and came up with anything they can imagine which included an accusation that I called one of the police officers "A Malay bastard" and that I was gesticulating with my hands.

The trial took 18 days. The police officers in an orchestrated fashion recited the same lies. In fact they could have said anything they wanted, even that I had tried to kill them and the Lee controlled court of Judge James Leong presiding, Court 16, Subordinate Court would have accepted it.

But the judge James Leong having accepted the lies, and convicts me of disorderly behavior and hurling expletives at police officers, the Singapore state controlled paper picks it up and repeats that lie again and again, hoping that somehow the Singapore public would believe that I am a man who goes around hurling abuses at police officers and being disorderly in public.

The Singapore government in their eagerness to tarnish the name of anyone that criticizes them is going about this entirely the wrong way. They should realize that they have chosen the wrong man to defame and punish. I denied both the Judge Belinda Ang case and the disorderly case, which took 18 days and 8 days of trial. They spent a great deal of money and effort. Perhaps they hoped that I would have pleaded guilty and left the country without much fuss. But my refusal to admit the charges and go to trial meant my staying in Singapore for 6 months, which was much more damaging to them.

During this long stay in Singapore, I was able to associate with Dr. Chee Soon Juan and members and activists of their party, understand the political situation in Singapore better and even assist in their political activism.

It increased awareness of may case among the Singapore public, where strangers used to come up to me and shake my hand with appreciation, my picture being on that paper almost everyday. My case received international attention with world bodies calling for my release and for the charges to be dropped. This blog overnight began to be read by almost everyone in Singapore who knew English.

All this, was not in the interests of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore. If they had given it some thought and found out the sort of person I was, they would have done well to deport me the very day I wrote the blog. But they seem adamant to continue in their folly by their continued interest in me with their newspaper report of Dec 3, 2008.

If someone could advice the Singapore authorities and their state controlled newspaper that it is best to leave me alone for their own good. Of course I hope they would continue with this vendetta against me, because it greatly serves my purpose of exposing this regime of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore.

The report also states "Mr. Nair was admonished, warned against launching future attacks on the judiciary and had to pay the AGC (Singapore Attorney General) $5,000.00 in legal costs."

While I was in prison, a day before my release, Francis Lim, police officer from Central Police Station came to prison and gave me a letter from the Attorney General demanding that I pay about $6,000 (inclusive of their expenses) by November 26, 2008, which was the date of my banishment from Singapore Changi Airport. You would like to know that I have not paid this and I don't intend to pay this ever. And they made no attempt to stop me from leaving!

By way of parenthesis, you would like to know that in an earlier politically motivated case which partly resulted in my leaving Singapore in 1991 for good, another contempt of court case, an election rally speech in Bukit Merah where I stood as a Workers Party candidate in that by election, I was ordered to pay the Attorney General $13,000.00 which I have refused to pay, as I was already in the US by the time they worked out the figures. And not just that, about that time, I was suspended from practicing as a lawyer in Singapore for 2 years for writing a letter to the then Attorney General demanding that he explain himself on a matter relating to the late JB Jeyaretnam, another shameful political action, in which they worked out my liability for costs in access of, believe it or not, $150,000.00. I have not paid that either.

No other government would sit idly by when an individual mocks their court orders in this fashion. They would take every effort to go after that individual no matter where he was. But you see, the Singapore government is not any other country. All their bravado and their arrogance is only in that small island where they rule by intimidating people by abusing the law. They leave alone anyone outside their borders because they know that they are a morally bankrupt country which will not command the respect of anyone else. Not to say that Singaporeans respect their government or their legal system, but because of fear there is nothing they can do in that prison which is called Singapore.

I would have been satisfied even if a single human being had read this. But with the wide coverage that this blog gets, and with the grapevine, Singapore will hear this and will hear my side of the story.

Your letters are welcome. We reserve the right to publish your letters. Please Email your letters to nair.gopalan@yahoo.com And if you like what I write, please tell your friends. You will be helping democracy by distributing this widely. This blog not only gives information, it dispels government propaganda put out by this dictatorial regime.

Can you just stop being a sore loser? Your fight against the sg govt seem more like an act of revenge for what they've done to you many years back. If our country is so undemocratic then why have we progressed so much economically unlike those people suffering in North Korea and Africa?Why not you fight for these people instead rather than focus your efforts on my country?Unfortunately, America have a very good relationship with my country. Hence, this proves that you are just a sore loser who couldn't take defeat and had to run away and come back and run away again. Can you just stop this nonsense?

Our country will progress without you. Hence, you will never see us fail; not in your lifetime. The new generation of leaders, which we have voted for, will improve our lives and we are willing to give them time to do so.

Upon recollection, I think the amount claimed by the Law Society against me in costs exceeded $100,000.00 and not $150,000.00. Anyway you can check with the Law Society of Singapore on the exact amount and perhaps an explanation why they have not done anything about it.

Perhaps the state controlled Singapore's Straits Times should check on this and perhaps write another report in their newspaper?

Yesterday, the 5th of September 2008, Subordinate Court No. 6, 4.30 pm Singapore. I was convicted of disorderly behavior and one count of hurling abuses at police officers. I have already narrated the incident in my earlier blog.

I was fined $2,000.00 and if I failed to pay, to serve 2 weeks jail for the hurling abuses at police officers charge. For the disorderly charge, $1,000.00 and if I failed to pay, 1 week in jail. In total $3,000.00. I have filed an appeal, which means that I don’t have to pay just yet. Mr. Chia Ti Lik will be my lawyer in the appeal.

This case, which I shall call the disorderly case, took 18 days of trial in court. I defended myself. After all I am a lawyer. So if I have been fined $3,000.00, you may say that I got my money's worth. I have made the court and the Singapore Attorney General to work very hard for 18 days of court time. In return the fine I have to pay them is only $3,000.00. If you look at from a financial standpoint, you could say that I have ripped them off. What, for 18 days of court time, they get only $3,000.00!

But on a serious note let me summarize what happened. The prosecution case had so many holes; you could have called it a sieve, and a broken one at that. And what was worse, except for 5 police officers, there was not a single independent witness, despite the fact that there was reported to be more than 25 independent onlookers as stated by the police spokesman himself in the Sunday Times of July 6, 2008!

On the morning of Sept 5, 2008 at 10 am, the prosecutor Mr. Koy Su Hua rose to address the court. His arguments were that I had hurled racial abuses at Malay policemen, which in his view should not be tolerated in a multi racial Singapore. Second that I had misconduct myself in the case by asking questions, which the judge had disallowed. Third that I had insisted that the Tamil Police Investigator give his full name instead of being allowed to use his nickname, which was S Vicki. Fourth, a similar accusation against Mr. Koy and the judge James Leong. That I had used the trial for political ends. That I had cast aspersions on the integrity of the judiciary including the judge Mr. Leong. That I had shown no remorse. And therefore, because of these things, I should be sent to prison because a fine was not enough.

I pointed out to the court that I deny ever hurling any abuses at anyone. And that each time someone used a racial abuse is used; if the offender is sent to prison, there wouldn’t be sufficient prison space to house all the offenders!

That I deny ever having behaved disorderly, as I had no reason to be. I was not drunk, as shown by the blood alcohol report, and neither was I mad. That I never misbehaved in court in any way, which was nothing more than a figment of imagination, Mr. Koy's that is. As for demanding full names, it was my understanding that in any country in the world including Singapore, people have to give their true names. If a man is John Smith, he cannot say that he is Archibald Adams! And that applies to this Tamil Investigator from Central Police Station who happens to be Vickneswaran s/o Sockalingam (s/o means son of) whose true name I only discovered by asking him a direct question during cross examination. The surprising thing about this name business is that this man, Mr. Koy, as well as the judge himself had flatly refused to give their full true names at all. Mr. Koy wanted to be known only as Peter Koy and the Judge wanted only to be known as James Koy. In the end we discovered that he was in fact Peter Koy Su Hua and the Judge was James Leong with 2 other Chinese names.

I pointed out that demanding true names was not being impudent or insulting at all. Although I cannot really say why this police officer from Central Police Station Vickneswaran s/o Sockalingam, Peter Koy and Judge James Leong were so determined to hide their full true names, I can make an intelligent guess. As they are aware that I write this blog, and that it is well read, and as there is a possibility that I may even write a book on this whole unhappy episode, they rather remain unknown to avoid embarrassment. They probably don’t want the world to know what they have to do for a living.

I had also pointed out that I had no respect for the Singapore judiciary which has been seen to be used as a political tool to silence dissent. I pointed out that it was not just I saying this but the respected International Bar Association in their recent 72-page report says just as much. As for remorse, I said I have none. As I have not committed any crime, how can someone expect me to have remorse? I told the judge that if it makes him happy, I could say I am sorry, but truly I am not; since it is impossible for someone to have remorse for a crime he did not commit. Saying sorry will therefore not do any good, neither for me nor for the judge. Just because the judge James Leong says I am guilty, does not make me so.

Mr. Koy, poor man was trying very hard to justify his claims. For instance he relied on a case PP vs. Daniel Lo Kiang Heong, 2007 SGDC 47, the facts being the defendant having gone to Devils Bar in Tanglin Road, got thoroughly drunk, shouted "baka" and "bakero" which meant “idiot” and “stupid bastard” in Japanese, of all languages, at police officers and when told to go home by them, showed his middle finger at them, and when arrested by a woman police officer, had bit her left breast for which she received medical treatment at Alexandra Hospital! This case was far more serious from anything that I was accused of. For one, I did not bite anyone, let alone a woman in her breast! Furthermore, even though the defendant in that case had acted in a very violent manner, he was asked to merely go home, when I was given no such opportunity, given the fact that I was Gopalan Nair.

Mr. Koy went on to refer to 2 more cases, which again had no relevance to mine at all, they being cases involving criminal breach of trust and credit card fraud. Mr. Koy was clearly clutching at straws to show that I should be severely punished.

I managed to refute these desperate challenges by Mr. Koy to paint me in bad light, but it did no good. I have no doubt in my mind, knowing how the legal system in Singapore works that the sentence imposed on me by the judge was already predetermined well before I walked into court. You see, it was not a criminal trial at all, but a political exercise from the start. The court was yet again being used by the Lee Kuan Yew dictatorship just as they have done for the entire history of Singapore since 1959, for a political purpose. It was to punish an openly known critic of the Singapore government so as to send a message to every other Singaporean that criticizing the government means trouble. And therefore they should not do it.

As for Mr. James Leong, I have this to say. I have begun to know him pretty well since it took 18 days of trial. He is a good man at heart; there is no doubt about it. If he had his way, there is no doubt he would have acquitted me immediately. But alas he is weak. He cuts a pathetic figure. A man, because of his circumstances, having to do things that he does not really want to do. He knows that his employment as a judge in the Singapore courts depends on the patronage of Lee Kuan Yew and his friends. He also knows that Lee demands his judges to punish political opponents of the government. And therefore to keep his job as a judge, he has no choice but to find me guilty. The sentence imposed upon me, and the timing of the dates of the sentencing were, in all probability, all decided for him by the Minister for Law in consultation with Lee Kuan Yew and his friends.

But I have to say this of Judge Leong. He was polite and treated me with respect throughout the trial. He was both courteous and decorous. I only wish one day, this man will have the courage of his conviction either to tell this government in no uncertain terms that he is not a politician, and if they wish dirty work to be done, they should find someone else. And if the government refuses, he should just walk out like a self-respecting man, with his head high on his shoulders and with his pride intact. Alas, that may be too much to ask in the fear ridden island of Singapore.

Gopalan NairSingapore

Posted by Gopalan Nair at 3:23 AM 41 comments

Monday, September 1, 2008Another classic case of trying to use the courts to silence dissentLadies and Gentlemen,

As you are aware, I have 2 cases against me. One, the 4th of July accusation that I behaved disorderly and hurled abuses including a racial one at a Malay police officer, who by the way had hurled abuses at me first, at Little India. I have denied the charges as you are aware and went on trial. That trial is now over and the court is set to deliver judgement on Sept 05, 2008 at Court 6, Subordinate Court Singapore at 10 am.

Then there is the other case, the blogging case that is set to start in the High Court on Sept 08, 2008.

What I wanted to write about in this blog post is to show you one more time how the Singapore court uses the law for its political ends. Yet another shameful instance of it.

I have never been under any illusions that I would ever win any case in Singapore, simply because my name is Gopalan Nair. The Singapore government shamelessly use Gopalan Nairs by punishing them, in the hope that they can send a message to everyone else not to question their dictates. The procedure used for this purpose is the age old Chinese saying, namely, you kill a chicken to frighten all the monkeys.

What happened on 4th July 2008, was nothing more than an argument between me and the police, arguments that happen everyday, since after all even Singaporeans are human beings with normal human emotions. There was no great calamity, no great disturbance, no disorder whatever. Had it been anybody else, the matter would have never come to court. But alas, I am not anyone else. I am the writer of the blog Singapore Dissident. And Gopalan Nair happens to be a thorn on the side of Lee Kuan Yew and his dictatorship since 1984, and especially so since the birth of this blog, Singapore Dissident in December 2006. People read the Singapore Dissident. It is causing discomfort to Lee and his son. What a great opportunity to punish him, discredit him and make him look like a thug; which by the way, kills 2 birds with one stone. One, the state controlled Singapore papers can make him look like a rascal once the courts have finished with him. Two, hopefully it will send a message to everyone else not to criticize, because if they do, what Gopalan Nair did, it will not be pleasant for them; a chilling effect on anyone ever wanting to say what he believes.

And it is the timing of the cases that shows how pathetic the Singapore courts and their judges are; out to achieve the political ends of their master Lee Kuan Yew and his government.

The verdict and the sentencing on the disorderly behaviour case is set for Sept 05, 2008 in Court 6, 2008. The blogging case in the High Court is set to begin on Sept 08, 2008 in the High Court. Perfect timing, don't you think. I will be convicted on Sept 05, 2008 on a Friday in the Subordinate Courts. The Singapore state controlled press will carry the story that I was convicted and punished on Saturday, Sept 06, 2008. On Monday, I will go to trial in the High Court; already having been branded as one who has gone about being disorderly and has hurled insults at policemen. Makes it much easier to convict him in the blogging case, in the eyes of Singaporeans, as one who has already been convicted of disorderly behaviour and for insulting policemen.

Very convenient for the government. Perfect timing. They hope that by showing my picture in the state controlled press and portraying me as a thug, they would manage to frighten every Singaporean by the only tool they have, which is fear. But in reality, it is I who has won and they who have lost. For one, they have not intimidated me. This entire episode so far is only further strengthening my resolve to continue fighting relentlessly for what is right. Second, if the hope is to frighten everyone else, that is, the Singaporeans that matter, the educated ones; they have not been intimidated at all. Just the reverse, they are becoming emboldened. And what is worse, these proceedings against me have caused the really capable among Singaporeans to leave in even greater numbers. If Gopalan Nair can be treated this way through the abuse of the law, just because he is Gopalan Nair, what will befall them in Singapore if they ever spoke their mind? Therefore they leave, since leaving is not only safe, it is good for them and their descendants. By leaving they attain freedom; which by the way is the most prized possession any man can have; much more valuable than all the gold in the world.

If I have lost in this political exercise, disguised as legal proceedings, the Lee Kuan Yew dictatorship has lost ten fold.

Caught in between the meanings? Then don't try to act smart by using an insulting word, then bring up tons of reasons just to make yourself look smart.

Why deny all those charges here? Since you make yourself look so smart, might as well fight it out in the court. Not happy? Bring it to your "free America" and even get it to President Bush. Not enough? Bring it to Queen Elizabeth II. Or better still, get the UN to deal with it.

Singapore can't last with PAP? Perhaps the opposite. At least we are better off than having all the protesters in Thailand blockading the airports, with the army and the police doing nothing.

Without you, Singapore will still go on. The people in Singapore will move on.

If we had more people like you, we will start having protests and perhaps a "Changi Airport shutdown".

I love the States, but I pity them for having a citizen like you.

So what's next? Running to the UK if US starts arresting you and throwing you into the jail?

They are capable of letting Mas Selamat slip, yea...in tiny Singapore, they can't even recapture him, activating the Guardsmen, Special Operations Force, Gurkhas and other special forces...talk about a loser state, yea. Who's the real loser?

Now they even let a Gopalan Nair slip to America. Made him do an undertaking not to repeat his offensive blogpost. Duh.

If you are a man of conviction as you seem to claim in all your tirades, you'd do the following:

1) instead of asking for donations (more like begging), why don't you display advertisements? If people truly feel that you are worth saving, they'd react to the advertisements. Whether the earnings from the ads are peanuts or not, then there you have it, a democratic way of telling you whether you are worth their time and effort.

2) If you seriously have any case (or beef) with the SG government and their cronies as you claim, be a man, do the right thing i.e. sue them for libel, slander etc since you are so cock sure that you are right, you're bound to win, isn't that true? If you are so confident that the US of A will protect you through thick and thin, then I am equally certain they will hire lawyers to defend you pro bono since you seem to indicate that you have been completely maligned etc.

3) If none of the above two suggestions work for you then all readers should take note that you are just so much hot air.

Now California has a cobra. Imagine who dare to trust you as a lawyer?We thank you for giving our police and judicial system some rough time. Now the policeman Zakaria is a much smarter man now learning how an accused can twist and turn at will. I was in Court watching you. You were pathetic. The Judge had to teach you the procedures.

Dear Mr Nair,I have a lot of respect for you for supporting the opposition.

But I do have a question for you, Mr Nair. Why are you still interested in Singapore matters when you are now an American.

Why don't we see Singapore failed first.

The signs are very clear - the people are myoptic, becoming very detached from how a real country works, and they are incapable of thinking.(such as the Anon on Thu Dec 04, 03:03:00 PM PST who mentioned about America - free to use guns to kill)

Just like General Motors, it will serve a greater good if it is bankrupt rather than put permanently on the taxpayers' life support machine.

Perhaps, let the LEEgime decay naturally will make Singaporeans see enlightenment.

There is a nice analogy to the tone of the responses to you from angry Singaporeans. It is much like the attitude of Nazi Germany citizens, reacting to people who fled due to persecution (e.g., Albert Einstein). For the most part, the Gestapo did a more effective job than the PAP at silencing contrary media. But even so, average Germans thought that they were in the right. Such is the case with average S'poreans. They just don't get it, as they don't see how provincial and narrow minded their thinking is.

It reminds me of my Singaporean friends when they visit the US. They tailgate when they drive and speed like idiots. Why? No cameras. Do they go to museums? Hardly, unless its got a nice gift shop. They focus on branded goods to the point of insanity. They buy Lazare diamonds at 40% greater cost because they think that a diamond sold by one store is better than another, despite the same ratings. And these are the highly educated ones. When I've quizzed them about leaving, the biggest issue is guilt over leaving their extended families. That perhaps is the biggest draw.

My spouse is the only one in her family to leave. We visit every year or so. It's nice to visit, but so one sided. The folks don't even realize that the radio news is the same as the Straits Times as is the TV news. It's all spelled out. Here's the official interpretation, and so on... They cannot even imagine a discourse where there was a complex discussion about an issue facing the country because they are unfamiliar with information that isn't digested by Big Brother...

Ah...I feel much better. They all should be feeling especially foolish given their economy is going down the toilet, living in their concrete HDB tenements.

And if I might add. Most of this vitriol and hate comes from the govt itself. I understand they have set up a department specifically to deal with criticism on the Internet. These are full time govt paid emplyooes who write this stuff. The plan of course is to discredit anyone who criticises them, giving the impression that they are ordinary citizens.

It shows how insecure and desperate they are to engage in this.

But you will see that with their vitroil, they cannot help attacking the United States as well, something that is contrary to their goverment stand.

They are hurting themselves by all this. Moreover ordinary Singaporeans can see through this anyway.

Keep up the good work and ignore all the ignorant and brainwashed Singaporeans' diatribe against you. They have not seen the world, all naive and think too highly of themselves. Singapore will fail one day at the rate of the Morons that are in charge, and the long list of Morons (Anon Dec 4 02:15; Alan; Anon Dec 5 01:47)who follow what thehead Morons say.

Respectfully, I have not lived as long as you have, presumably by a stretch. But, I can certainly discern between what I opin to be right or wrong, fair or unfair. Your thesis is correct, but may not apply to the semantics of Gopalan's case. Although Gopalan initially appeared courageous (and I empathized with him at that point), his subsequent antics (apology and retraction) betray the steel-will he displayed. Let me elaborate.

It is no secret that in Singapore, the PAP has political monopoly, and it is only machiavellian to hold on to power, in any political context for that matter. As democratic as the U.S. is perceived, she is surreptitiously and constantly influenced by a handful of stakeholders. The social effects are not as apparent because the U.S. is infinitely larger and complex, where the public sphere can pose a more effective counterbalance, vis-a-vis Singapore.

Having said that, the fact remains that Gopalan Nair challenged LKY to a fight and lost. Up to that point, he accomplished a courageous feat.

What is cowardly and immature, in my view is to get back to the U.S., retract his apology (with some lame justification) and start ranting vociferously again in safe harbor. What kind of a hero (as some others have touted him to be) is that, when he is only willing to 'fight' in safety? If he can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen and don't come back.The Chee siblings can be used as a counter example. We may not all agree with them, but at least we can respect their courage to stay the fight for their beliefs.

Followers

About Me

Determined to find the Truth.
Born Singapore, educated Winstedt School 2 (next to Monks Hill in Newton, Singapore) Raffles Institution, National Service, some travel in Europe, then law studies England, return to Singapore, practiced for 10 years, active Workers Party member, stood elections 1988 and 1991 in Singapore, was harassed and persecuted by Lee Kuan Yew for my political beliefs, left for USA, obtained asylum and admitted California State Bar, practice law ever since in Fremont California near San Francisco. Relinquished Singapore citizenship 2005 because I was not prepared to permit Lee Kuan Yew to unjustly retain my CPF funds if I remained Singapore Citizen. On principle, the only correct thing for me to do was to give it up, for my CPF funds. I am an American Citizen as of 2004.